Trump expected to issue AI and cybersecurity executive order with voluntary pre-release model sharing

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on AI and cybersecurity as soon as Thursday, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, as pressure grows from parts of his political base to increase oversight of new AI models, such as Anthropic's Mythos. The order would create a voluntary framework for AI developers to engage with the U.S. government about the public release of covered models, the sources said. Under the framework, the developers would be asked to provide their models to the government 90 days before public release, and also give pre-public access to critical infrastructure providers such as banks, one of the people said. Such an approach may represent a middle ground among Trump supporters. MAGA activists, including former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and right-wing political organizer Amy Kremer, have been pressing the White House to require AI developers to submit their most capable ‌models for government security tests. On ⁠the other ⁠side of the debate are tech industry supporters such as venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and former Trump adviser David Sacks, who are resistant to mandatory requirements. Sacks in March stepped down from his role as Trump's lead AI official and is now co-chairing the president's tech advisory committee. Trump's AI policies in his second term have largely reflected the tech industry's perspective. NEW MODELS DRIVING DEBATE A White House spokesperson called any discussion about AI policy details "speculation." A National Security Agency spokesperson directed Reuters to contact the White House when asked about details of the president's plan. National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross, who serves as Trump's principal adviser on cybersecurity policy and strategy, did not respond to requests for comment. The balance of power between the two groups of Trump's supporters has shifted, driven by the release of powerful new AI systems, including Mythos and OpenAI's GPT-5.5-Cyber. The companies warn the new models could supercharge complex cyberattacks, though some cybersecurity executives have said those fears are overblown. Mythos' arrival prompted a battle among the president's supporters to influence ⁠how he ‌responds. The outcome of that debate could have a significant impact on the AI industry if the president's decision slows the rollout of large language models or prompts the companies to change how a model performs to address safety concerns. Either option could hurt profits. Republicans have traditionally favored limited government and opposed regulations, but support is growing among their more ⁠vocal populist supporters to impose AI guardrails. The populist faction is asking Trump to require government approval of "potentially dangerous" AI systems before they're deployed, according to a letter they sent to the White House last Friday. Kremer said it is "antithetical" to her political views to advocate for new regulations, but AI requires a different approach. "You can't count on these people that are leading these AI companies to put our interests at heart and do what's right to protect the American people," she said. Kremer helped organize a January 6, 2021, rally that preceded the Capitol riot. She said in an interview that she was not among the thousands of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol that day. BIG TECH SUPPORT Tech executives are among the president's largest political donors and most visible supporters. Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Google's Sundar Pichai and OpenAI's Sam Altman sat front and center as he was sworn into office in January 2025. Advocates for the tech industry told Reuters they want to see the U.S. Department of Commerce's Center for AI Standards and Innovation play a leading role in the Trump administration's ‌response to advanced AI models, adding that companies are willing to work with the scientists and cybersecurity specialists in that organization voluntarily. The National Security Agency has been involved in administration-wide discussions about how to respond to Mythos, according to two other people familiar with the matter, along with Cairncross. Lawmakers asked Cairncross to work with federal agencies to set up a process that would monitor "sudden frontier AI capability jumps." "The past couple ⁠months have served as a massive wake-up call for the kinds of vulnerabilities that AI can create," said former U.S. Representative Brad Carson, who now helps run a super PAC network whose funders include Anthropic. Holding back new AI models while the federal government vets them may allow the U.S. to gain a short-term advantage over adversaries but will not keep the technology out of enemy hands in the long term, said Neil Chilson, head of AI Policy at the Abundance Institute, a nonprofit often aligned with the tech industry. "We need to make sure we're deploying it and getting the most out of it, including by hardening our defenses," Chilson said. Voluntary federal testing of new AI models has been in place for a few years, with companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic submitting their products for scrutiny by the Center for AI Standards and Innovation, known by a different name under former President Joe Biden. The Commerce Department announced in May that Google, xAI and Microsoft had agreed to submit their AI models for security testing, though the details later disappeared from its website. The White House and Commerce Department did not respond to requests for comment about why the details disappeared.

Trump AI Executive Order To Seek Early Access To Advanced Models After Anthropic's 'Mythos' model sent shockwaves through the cybersecurity world due to its ability to find and exploit software vulnerabilities at breakneck speed, the Trump administration is reportedly on the cusp of issuing a much-discussed executive order that would encourage AI companies to provide information on their advanced models to the government before public release.  Anthropic's Dario Amodei According to Axios, the order - which could come as soon as this week - will outline plans for a voluntary framework - meaning companies can just ignore it - under which AI labs would share their models with the government at least 90 days before public release, while also giving access to certain critical infrastructure providers.  Mythos and OpenAI's latest model, GPT-5.5-Cyber, have raised alarm bells both inside and outside government due to their ability to find and exploit software vulnerabilities with unprecedented speed.  The EO will also cover cybersecurity, and "aims to secure the Pentagon and other national security agencies, boost cyber hiring, shore up cybersecurity systems across the country at places like hospitals and banks, and encourage threat sharing about breaches between the AI industry and government." The component covering the advanced 'frontier' models such as Mythos would involve multiple layers of government review to see if it qualifies as a "covered frontier model," and then assess them prior to public release. The voluntary 90-day pre-release sharing framework lets the government: Review models early via national security and civilian agencies. Assess risks. Advise labs or critical infrastructure providers. Prepare defenses if needed. This gives the White House situational awareness on what's coming down the pike, without trying to outright regulate or slow U.S. AI companies (which would contradict the administration's "America first / global dominance" stance on AI). In short: It signals "we want to keep an eye on the dangerous models" to the public and adversaries, builds relationships for threat intel, and keeps the U.S. competitive. Whether companies actually engage will depend on norms, pressure, and self-interest. If the final version (expected soon) adds more carrots/sticks, its teeth could sharpen. Tyler Durden Wed, 05/20/2026 - 14:45